Defenders Of The Innocent - Brief Article

Guns Magazine, Nov, 1999 by Massad Ayoob

There is no evidence in the Bible that when Cain slew Abel with a rock, God even considered banning rocks. Made in His image, we have the power to build tools -- including weapons to defend ourselves. Sadly, there are those who would take that away from us.

You can't defend yourself against a bomb or against a roaring wall of flame from a fire set by a coward. An armed man or woman can defend themselves and others from those who would murder the innocent with hand-held weapons. In the Texas Tower incident in 1966, armed citizens joined police in returning fire from the street, driving the sniper back from his parapet and undoubtedly reducing the death toll.

Armed citizen Allen Crum not only led police up the tower, but fired the first shots in the gun battle that left the murderous Charles Whitman dead at the hands of Austin police officers Ramiro Martinez and Houston McCoy.

When George Hennard opened fire in the Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen Texas, a young chiropractor named Suzanne Gratia reached for the Smith & Wesson .38 in her purse. She had an easy shot to stop him, but the gun wasn't there. Since it was illegal at the time (1991) to carry concealed handguns in Texas, she had left it in her vehicle.

She watched helplessly as Hennard slaughtered 22 people, including her parents, before he put his gun to his head and finished what police bullets had begun. She has no doubt that if her gun had been present, she could have stopped him in time to save many, many lives.

I have no doubt of that, either.